New soccer club aiming for elite experience in Rockford

Monday

For 19 years, he served as executive director of coaching for the Rockford Sirens girls soccer club.

Four years ago, after the Sirens merged with the Rockford Raptors, Glon moved on and eventually started the Academy United Soccer Club in Schaumburg. He has served as the club’s academy director and head coach of its high school program for the past three years.

Now, he’s returning to the area to launch the Peak Soccer Academy, which will make training available to boys and girls ages 8 through 15 in the Rock River Valley.

“We feel there are enough players here in Rockford that we can develop and provide that high level of competition,” Glon said.

Peak Soccer Academy will be one of six youth soccer clubs in town.

Glon said Peak Soccer Academy will set itself apart in that it is made up of four components. The first is soccer, which focuses on player development by offering individualized training programs. The second is philanthropy, where players are committed to community service. The third is leadership both on and off the field. The final component is focused on academics.

“It’s about the development of the whole person,” Glon said.

Peak president Gary Wright said: “The very reason why we chose the name Peak Soccer Academy was that we wanted a platform that pushed kids to their peak.

“This can mean many things for all players,” he said. “Playing soccer at your peak to us means providing the athlete with an environment that gives them exceptional training as well as an ability to play at their highest level in our state, regionally, or nationally. Other players might want to use this environment to positively affect their community.”

PSA will have two boys teams, one for U-11 and the other for U-13. There will also be two girls teams, at the U-13 and U-14 age levels.

Members of the PSA staff are also familiar names in the area in Radu Giurgiu, who will serve as assistant director of coaching, and coaches Jean-Pierre Tokoto and Mary Beth Kling.

Giurgiu spent six years on the staff at Rock Run Soccer Club, while Kling served as president of the Sirens. Tokoto, a former director of coaching at Schwaben AC, lives in Rockford.

“I am very excited,” Kling said, “that Coach Glon is returning to Rockford as the DOC of Peak Soccer Academy. ... I have witnessed not only my daughter successfully go through this process with Coach Glon, but have had the experience of coaching under his leadership and seeing countless players gain the skills and confidence to succeed at higher levels of the game as well as later in life.”

About 65 kids participated at PSA’s inaugural tryouts held June 12-13 at Sportscore One. Practices will start in August.

Glon will maintain his duties at Academy United, but said he is excited to bring another soccer program to Rockford.

“I like the energy of the parents,” he said. “They are really our customers. So, it’s exciting to make new friends and see old friends and to build this new entity and go forward with it.”